Welcome

I have always loved reading since I can remember! In fact, since I grew up in a neighborhood with lots of kids that always came by my house to play, in order to stay in and read, my parents would tell my friends that I had been punished!
I taught elementary school for 14 years and have spent the last 10 years working with my husband. Now that I have more personal free time I am able to read more throughout the year and not just in the summertime.
I have a Kindle, a Nook and an Ipad2 that I use to read books as well. Although I have these electronic readers, I still like my books better!

Reading Bookmark

Download and print this cute bookmark. Click on the image and save it on your computer, when you print it, make sure you don't print it to fit the page so it will print in real size (2" by 7") Enjoy!

Thursday, April 12, 2012

I never liked taking History classes while I was in college maybe it was because I never had any teachers that made it interesting. Now, I love reading Historical Fiction. In fact, I think that it is among my favorite genre of books to read! Below there is some information about this genre. Also, I will be sharing some recent novels that have just hit the shelves or are about to do so. One thing I love about most Historical Fiction novels are their covers. They usually have the most beautiful covers with women in beautiful dresses or beautiful scenery! Wouldn't be fun to just for a moment go back in time?

What Historical Novel have you read that you really enjoyed the story or thought the cover was fantastic?

Genre: Historical Fiction

Definitions

“Historical Fiction is fiction set in the past. It contains a rich mixture of fact and fiction. Through novels and short stories, an author may combine factual information about the time, place, events, and real people of the period with fictional characters, dialogue, and details. All of these help you experience what it was like to live during the era when the story takes place.” (LOL, p. 706)

“Historical Fiction is fiction that is set in the past. It may contain references to actual people and events of the past. Though based in fact, it also contains fictional elements such as description and dialogue.” (LOL, p. R12)

Characteristics of Historical Fiction

• presents a well-told story that doesn't conflict with historical records

• portrays characters realistically

• presents authentic settings

• artfully folds in historical facts

• provides accurate information through illustrations

• avoids stereotypes and myths

More Characteristics of Historical Fiction

• well-told story

• believable setting and characters

• plot supported by historical evidence

• tells a compelling story first and relates historical information second

Categories of Historical Fiction

• Glimpses of Everyday Life—

o tells a story through the eyes of characters who are not famous

o reveals an historical era through what people ate, how they may have experienced historical events, what attitudes they shared and customs they practiced

• Real-Life Historical Figures

o portrays famous people in their historical setting

o goes beyond the limits of textbooks to include the daily lives and concerns of these figures

• On and Behind the Front Lines

o sets the characters and plot in the context of war

o creates a picture of how wars affect the lives of individuals and their communities

Setting: is the most important literary element in Historical Fiction since the novel takes place during a definite time period in history and in a real place in history. The information about the time period and place must be accurate, authentic, or both. The author must thoroughly research the time period and the place to know how the people lived, what they ate, what kinds of homes they had, and what artifacts were a common part of their lives.

Characters: may be real or fictional, or some may be real and some fictional, but all of the characters in the story behave in realistic ways.

Plot: may be documented historical events or may be fictional, but makes sense and has a solution to the problem at the end. If the plot is fictional, it means that the author created the events for the telling of the story.

Dialogue: words spoken by the characters to show their personalities and to reflect the knowledge and thoughts of the people in the particular time period.

Description: of the characters, events and places are very vivid. Any historical information that may be unfamiliar to the reader is explained by the author.

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comments:

My favorite historical fiction has to be ANYTHING by James A. Michener. I think he was a genius. I read my first Michener book in 11th grade US History, and I've been reading and collecting his books ever since!